Footwear



Sept. 24, 1929. o. HABICHT 1,729,254

FOOTWEAR Filed Sept. 13, 1928 iNvENToR OTTO /q/cf/r Y B //Mam A TTO R N EYS Patented Sept. 24, 1929 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE FOOTWEAR Application filed September 13, 1928, Serial The invention relates to footwear and more particularly to boots, shoes, and similar foot coverings for human beings. ln such footwear the means provided for stiffening and maintaining the form of the shoes and the like at the toe ends thereof, as a rule comprises caps of leather located between the vamp or upper and the lining of the shoe or its equivalent. Such caps being stiff and substantial ly unyiclding ofttimes subi ect the toes of the feet to painful and undesirable pressures, when the shoes or the like are worn. This results in the development of many types of foot diseases, particularly in the case of children; furthermore, wearing through of the stockings is largely due to the chafing action of such caps.

The principal purpose of this invention is to overcome these disadvantages by providing the footwear with toe-boxes having an inherent elasticity7 developed through the mcdium of finished caps made of highly resilient material such as rubber and the like, and incorporated in the toe-boxes during the manufacture of the shoes or their equivalent. Other more specific objects of the invention will appear from the description hereinafter, and the features of novelty will be pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing, which illustrates an example of the invention without defining its limits, Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly in section of a shoe embodying the novel toe-cap; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the toe-cap itself; Fig. 3 is an end view thereof, and Fig. l is an inverted plan view of the cap.

As shown in the drawings, the cap is constructed of a suitable, highly resilient material, such as rubber, and is shaped and dimensioned to fit the toebox of the shoe or other article of footwear for which it is designed; such toe-cap when incorporated in the toebox of the shoe or its equivalent, develops therein an inherent highly elastic condition, which avoids the creation of any harmful tee pressures and at the same time causes said toe-box to immediately return to its normal condition, subsequent to any deformation thereof, and thus preserves in the shoe at all No. 305,676, and. in Germany June 24, 1927.

times the desired finished appearance. rlhe highly resilient top-cap comprises a hollow, rearwardly open body 10, shaped and dimensioned to conform to and fit the interior surface formation of the toe-box for which it is designed, said body 10 being rearwardly open as indicated in Figs. 1 and-2; the term rearwardly is used as a matter of convenience with reference to the toe-cap, when embodied in the shoe or other article of footwear. rilhe walls of the body 10 preferably taper in thickness from the toe end of the cap to the open end thereof, as indicated by the dotted line 11 in Fig. 2, and also from opposite sides of said cap toward the longitudinal center of said body, as indicated at 12 in Figs. 2 and 3.

in the preferred form, the body 10 includes a sheet 18 of flexible and preferably elastic material, such as thin rubber, which is permanently combined with the body to form a bottom therefor, as shown in Figs. .3 and 1; if desired, the bottom 13 may be cut away as indicated in Fig. 4L and in some forms may be omitted.

In practice, the highly resilient toe-cap 10 is located interiorly of the toe-box of the shoe or its equivalent between the vamp or upper 15 thereof, and the inner lining 16, as shown in Fig. 1. The lining 16 extends into the hollow body 10 and over the bottom 18 thereof, if the latter is included in said cap, and is secured in position inL any suitable manner, so as to completely cover the toe-cap, as shown in Fig. 1; the bottom 13, if it forms a part of the device, extends rearwardly along the sole 17 of the shoe or its equivalent, and if desired, may also taper in thickness from the toe end of the cap rearwardly toward the open end thereof.

ln the manufacture of the shoe, the toe-cap 10 is fitted over the last on which the lining 16 has previously been stretched, after which the vamp or upper 15 is fitted in place, so that in the Jfinished article of footwear, the highly resilient toe-cap is located between the inner lining 16 and the vamp or upper 15; otherwise the shoe or its equivalent may be constructed in any conventional manner.

The toe-cap, before its incorporation in the shoe, is constructed in its finished form and constitutes a unit which may be easily fitted into place during the manufacture of the shoe or the like by the workman. The bottom 13, if present in the cap, comprises an integral part thereof and gives to the cap a predetermined form independent of any efforts of the shoe builder, so that it is impossible through awkward or careless workmanship to give an incorrect form to the toebox as has heretofore been the case; in other words, in existing constructions, the form of the toe cap is depend-ent upon the skill ofthe workman and his attention to his duties, which is not the case with the present toe-cap. The novel highly resilient toe-cap also prevents the formation of undesirable folds in the interior of the toe-box during construction of the shoe or t ie like; furthermore, because of the tapering thicknesses of the walls of the toe-cap, the latter also provides a smooth, even interior finish in the toe-box of the shoe or its equivalent, which develops no discomfort to the wearer or undesirable pressures on the toes of the wearer; in addition to this, the walls of tapering thickness provide a graduated elasticity in the toe box which is proportionate to the variations in the thickness of said walls. It is unnecessary to independently shape each toe-cap, at the time of its installation in the shoe or its equivalent. to effect this reduction in the wall thickness of said toe-cap, as this tapering form is given to said walls during the manufacture of the toecap, so that the'latter constitutes a finished unit ready for immediate incorporation in the shoe or other article of footwear for which it is designed. As previously stated, with the arrangement set forth hereinbefore, the novel toe-cap provides the shoe or its equivalent with a highly elastic toe-box which is of maximum comfort tothe wearer and exerts no harmful pressures upon the toes of the feet; at the same time, the inherent flexibility of the toe-box causes the same to immediately return to its intended form subsequent to a deformation, the stability of the toe-cap being at all times sufficient to normally maintain the toe-box against collapse.

Various changes in the specific form shown and described may be made within the scope of the claims without `departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

l. An elastic toe cap for footwear comprising a highly resilient hollow body shaped to conform to the interior form of the toe box of the footwear and dimensioned to fit said toe box, and a sheet of flexible elastic material integrally combined with said body to form a bottom therefor, said sheet being formed of Vthe same material as the body.

2. An elastic toe cap for footwear compris ing a hollow, rearwardly open body of highly resilient material, said body having a normal my hand.

TTO HABICHT. 

